Grout Application Device

ABSTRACT

A rectangular paddle having a uniform thickness is capable of attaching to the rotor of a power trowel device. In one embodiment of the invention, the paddle is made of India rubber. The paddle is oriented on the rotor such that the angle between the paddle and the flooring surface is, in one embodiment of the invention, less than 45°. The paddle efficiently consolidates grout into the joints of a flooring material.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. The Field of the Invention

This invention relates generally to flooring installation. More particularly, embodiments of the present invention relate to and devices for applying grout in flooring installation.

2. Related Technology

Flooring materials such as tile, brick, stone, and the like are popular in commercial and residential flooring for both aesthetic and utilitarian reasons. Tile, brick, stone, and other sturdy flooring materials provide a long-lasting and durable floor that is also beautiful in appearance.

When tile, brick, stone, and like materials are installed, it is necessary to use grout to stabilize and solidify the flooring material. Numerous types of grout are available for a variety of different applications. For example, certain applications may be best suited for a cementitious grout, while other applications may be more suited for an epoxy-based grout. In any case, the grout must be applied to the flooring surface in a way to consolidate the grout in the joints between the various bricks, stones, or tiles that are used to make up the flooring surface.

The application and consolidation of grout in this way is a time consuming and labor-intensive process. Certain aspects of applying grout in a way that will be most effective and efficient are non-intuitive and require the skill of one trained in the art of grout application. For example, the grout application process may involve numerous steps where a grout material is applied and forced into the seams between the stone or tiles and then alternated with an application of a coarse sand-like material, to help further penetrate and fill the seams between the stones or tiles.

In applying the grout to the flooring surface, the goal is to consolidate the grout as efficiently and effectively as possible into the seams of the floor in the shortest amount of time possible. Traditionally, such grout application involved primarily manual labor methods, such as workers applying the grout personally with a hand-held paddle while kneeling on the flooring surface. Other methods have been developed that attempt to make use of mechanical methods for applying the grout in a more efficient and timely manner.

One of the most common mechanical methods used for applying grout is the use of a power trowel, which is traditionally designed to either be pushed by the worker or for the worker maneuver from a sitting position on the trowel machine itself. The goal of the power trowels is to apply the grout more quickly, while at the same time being able to consolidate the grout more effectively into the flooring seams. The configuration of such power trowels is such, however, that the grout is still not applied in a manner that is most effective for consolidating the grout into the seams of the tiles or stones. Grout material is not consolidated into the seams of the flooring surface, wasting grout and requiring numerous applications of grout to the flooring surface.

What is needed is a grout application device that can more effectively consolidate the grout into the flooring seams in a short amount of time.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention include a grout application device having a rectangular shaped paddle capable of being removably attached to the rotor of a grout application machine, such as a power trowel. The rectangular shaped paddle has a uniform thickness and is capable of being adjusted to a variety of positions. In one embodiment of the invention, the paddle is made of India rubber. The size, shape, thickness, orientation, and maneuverability of the paddle enable the paddle to consolidate the grout into the seams of the flooring material efficiently and effectively.

These and other aspects of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To further clarify the above and other aspects of the present invention, a more particular description of the invention will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof which are illustrated in the appended drawings. It is appreciated that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. The drawings are not drawn to scale. The invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows a rectangular paddle;

FIG. 2 shows a rectangular paddle attached to a rotor of a power trowel;

FIG. 3 shows a side view of a rectangular paddle in operation; and

FIG. 4 shows a power trowel incorporating the rectangular paddle of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present invention include a rectangular paddle configured to be attached to a rotor of a power trowel for effective application of grout into seams or joints of flooring materials, such as stone, brick, tile, and the like. The paddle is of uniform thickness and may be removably attached to a rotor of a power trowel. The position of the paddle on the rotor may be adjusted to a position that will most effectively consolidate grout into the seams or joints of a flooring material. The design of the paddle provides a grout application device that is able to effectively and efficiently apply grout to a flooring material while at the same time having a durable, long-lasting, and cost effective design.

With attention now to FIG. 1, an isometric view of a substantially rectangular paddle 100 of one embodiment of the present invention is shown. As seen in FIG. 1, paddle 100 has an essentially uniform thickness 102. In one embodiment of the invention, thickness 102 of paddle 100 is about ½ inch. In other embodiments of the invention paddle 100 may have any number of thicknesses, varying from between about ½ inch to about 2 inches. In one embodiment of the invention, paddle 100 is made of rubber, such as, for example, India rubber. In other embodiments of the invention, paddle 100 is made of any variety or combination of suitable synthetic and/or natural materials, such as, for example, plastic, silicone, and polytetrafluoroethylene.

A paddle made of India rubber, or of a synthetic material, may be, in one embodiment of the invention, attached to the rotor of a power trowel. FIG. 2 shows a paddle 200 attached to a blade 202 of a rotor of a power trowel. While only one paddle being attached to a single blade of a rotor is depicted in FIG. 2, it is to be appreciated that one paddle would be attached to each blade of a rotor of a power trowel. For example, if a rotor of a power trowel were configured with four blades, one paddle would be attached to each blade, creating a power trowel having four paddles working to consolidate grout into joints of flooring material simultaneously.

Paddle 200, like paddle 100, has a substantially uniform thickness, shown here as thickness 204. As noted above, paddle 200 is removably attached to blade 202. Paddle 200 is also adjustable on blade 202. Paddle 200 may be adjusted to create a specific angle at which back end 206 of paddle 200 will contact the flooring surface. In one embodiment of the invention, the angle at which back end 206 of paddle 200 contacts the flooring surface is less than thirty degrees. Thus, front end 208 makes less contact with the floor than back end 206 of paddle 200.

In operation, paddle 200 is moved along the flooring surface, consolidating grout into the joints of the flooring surface, as blade 202 rotates in the direction shown by arrow A. Grout that has been placed on the flooring surface is pushed by paddle 200 down into the joints in the stones, tiles, bricks, or other materials that have been used to create the flooring surface. As blade 202 rotates, paddle 200 passes over the grout numerous times and forces the grout into the joints or seams of the flooring material. The angle at which the paddle contacts the flooring surface, the material from which the rectangular paddle is constructed, and the size and shape of the paddle all contribute to the ability of the paddle to consolidate the grout into the flooring joints. Thus, the paddle 200 of the present invention is able to better consolidate the grout into the floor, thus improving the appearance, structural integrity, and durability of the flooring material.

With attention now to FIG. 3, a side view of paddle 300 as it contacts flooring surface 302 is shown. As shown in FIG. 3, the paddle 300 is oriented relative to the flooring surface such that paddle 300 rests against the flooring surface at a specific angle. In one embodiment of the invention, the angle between the paddle 300 and the flooring surface 302 is less than 30°.

When the power trowel is in operation and the rotors of the power trowel are moving, the paddle 300 moves generally in the direction shown by arrow A. Grout (not shown) that has been placed on the flooring surface 302, either by the power trowel or pre-applied by hand, will be caught in area 304. As the paddle 300 rotates, the grout caught in area 304 is forced into the joints of the flooring material on flooring surface 302. The shape, size, and orientation of the paddle 300, in addition to the material from which the paddle is constructed, contribute to the ability of the paddle to efficiently consolidate grout into joints of the flooring surface.

Finally, looking at FIG. 4, a top view of a power trowel 400, such as a ride-on trowel, is shown. Power trowel 400 includes rotors 402 and 404. A rectangular paddle 406 is attached to each of the rotors 402 and 404. Each rectangular paddle has a uniform thickness and is, in one embodiment of the invention, made of India rubber. Further, each paddle 406, and rotor 402 and 404 to which the paddle is attached, is oriented such that the paddle 406 contacts the flooring surface at a certain angle, such as, for example, and angle less than 45°.

When the power trowel 400 is in operation, grout is spread onto the flooring surface in order to be pushed into the joints of the flooring surface. Rotors 402 and 404 rotate to move the grout over the flooring surface. Paddles 406 rotate on rotors 402 and 404 and make contact with the grout and the flooring surface, consolidating the grout into the joints of the flooring surface. Thus, embodiments of the present invention provide efficient ways to consolidate grout into the joints of a flooring surface.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope. 

1. A grout application device, comprising a rectangular paddle having a uniform thickness greater than about ½ inch and configured to be removably attached to a rotor, the paddle being adjustable such that the angle at which a back end of the paddle contacts a flooring surface is adjustable.
 2. The grout application device as recited in claim 1 wherein the paddle is configured of India rubber.
 3. The grout application device as recited in claim 1 wherein the angle at which a back end of the paddle contacts a flooring surface is less than 30°.
 4. The grout application device as recited in claim 1 wherein the grout application device includes more than one rotor, with one or more rectangular paddles attached to each rotor.
 5. The grout application device as recited in claim 1, wherein the thickness of the rectangular paddle is one of: ½ inch; ⅝ inch; ¾ inch; ⅞ inch; 1 inch; 1¼ inch; 1⅜ inch; 1½ inch; 1⅝ inch; 1¾ inch; 1⅞ inch; and, 2 inches.
 6. The grout application device wherein the angle at which the back end of the paddle contacts the flooring surface is less than one of: 45°; 30°; 20°; and, 15°.
 7. A power trowel attachment, comprising: one or more rectangular paddles configured to attach to rotors of the power trowel, the one or more rectangular paddles having a uniform thickness and being oriented to contact a flooring surface at an angle.
 8. The power trowel as recited in claim 7, wherein the one or more rectangular paddles are configured of India rubber.
 9. The power trowel as recited in claim 7, wherein the angle at which the one or more paddles contact the flooring surface is less than 45°.
 10. The power trowel as recited in claim 7, wherein the angle at which the one or more paddles contact the flooring surface is one of: 30°; 20°; and, 15°.
 11. The power trowel as recited in claim 7, wherein the rectangular paddle is adjustable with respect to the orientation of the paddle over the flooring surface.
 12. The power trowel as recited in claim 7, wherein the rectangular paddle is removable and replaceable. 